The Day I Said Yes to Für Elise—and Watched a Beginner Shine

This post will either be a horrific trigger of your most dreaded student request... or a welcome relief. 😅

With those two possibilities ahead of us, here goes the story:

I have this 9-year-old student.
He’s a little nerdy, wildly enthusiastic, and absolutely loves piano.

We’re talking brand-new beginner here—I haven’t even officially introduced the white key names yet. We’ve just been exploring black key patterns, finger numbers, and rote pieces. (You know the drill.)

And then... it happened.

“I want to play Für Elise!”